About   Astrophotos  Contact  News  Star Guide  Telescopes 

Mercury (December, 2024) ⬅︎

 ↪︎ toggle
Mercury is the easiest planet to find but the hardest to see. As the first planet, it's always close to the Sun in our sky. So to find Mercury, just find the Sun. But, of course, the brilliance of the Sun makes seeing Mercury nearly impossible. Mercury is never out at night.

So when can Mercury be viewed? In twilight, but only at special times of the year. As Mercury orbits the Sun, it moves in our sky from one side of the Sun to the other. When it's at its greatest angular distance from the Sun, or maximum elongation, it may be possible to view Mercury right before sunrise or right after sunset.

The good news is that, because Mercury orbits the sun so quickly, there are usually six elongations in a year alternating between dawn and dusk viewings. The bad news is that, because its orbit is so tilted, Mercury's altitude above the horizon is only high enough for good viewing during half of these.

Any attempt to view Mercury has to be timed just right and a good view of the horizon where the sun rises or sets is needed. Like our Moon, Mercury goes through phases and it will be in quarter or crescent phase during elongations.

2024 Best Maximum Elongations
* Jan 12: 7° above the horizon at dawn, best viewing Jan 3-10
* Mar 24: 12° above the horizon at dusk, best viewing Mar 13-Apr 1
* Sep 4: 9° above the horizon at dawn, best viewing Aug 30-Sep 11
* Dec 24: 9° above the horizon at dawn, best viewing Dec 15-28
« PriorDecember 1, 2024Next »
Level RatingBest Viewing
* Mercury reaches maximum elongation on Dec 24. Best viewing will be at dawn Dec 15-28. Look for Mercury right above the horizon just ahead of sunrise. A very good view of the E horizon will be needed and you’ll need to time this right.
* Dec 27: look for a lovely crescent Moon above Mercury (toggle the image above).